If you're training for a big raceScent strategy: Boost your energy with an invigorating, fresh scent.Why: Consider cool, tingly scents a wake-up call for your brain. A study at Wheeling Jesuit University found that basketball players who inhaled fresh, stimulating scents like mint, menthol, and eucalyptus before a game had more energy and were quicker around the court.Try: Coach Legacy (shown), $75 for 1.7 oz, coach.com; Banana Republic Classic Limited Edition, $48 for 3.4 oz, bananarepublic.com; Biotherm Eau Pure, $36 for 3.4 oz, biotherm-usa.com

If you're attending a party where you'll be meeting lots of new peopleScent strategy: Pick florals to help kick your memory into high gear.

Why: Researchers at the Smell and Taste Foundation put subjects in floral-scented masks and had them complete a maze; compared with counterparts who worked sans scent, they finished 17 percent faster. The scientists theorize that the floral fragrances activate the hippocampus, the part of the brain that stores new information.

If you're looking for a mood liftScent strategy: Try a woodsy fragrance for a drug-free antidepressant.

Why: Sandalwood incense has been part of Buddhist meditation rituals for thousands of years. Today's researchers suspect they know why: That deep aroma--like you'll also find in woodsy scents such as cedar and pine-increases the production of endorphins, those feel-good hormones your body produces.

If you're planning a romantic nightScent strategy: Vanilla and musk get the biggest rise out of guys.Why: According to Alan Hirsch, M.D., neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, vanilla and musk increase alpha brain waves--the kind that contribute to feelings of relaxation and decrease inhibition, leading to greater sexual arousal. What's more, in studies of fragrance preference, vanilla aromas come out as the most pleasing to both sexes.Try: Thierry Mugler Alien Prodigy Elixir (shown), $190 for 1 oz, thierrymugler.com; Sula Stiletto Musk, $32 for 1 oz, amazon.com; Black Amethyst, $27 for 2.5 oz, bathandbodyworks.com

If you're dreading a day of boring meetingsScent strategy: Give your brain a jolt with citrus.Why: Bright, sparkling scents are just the thing to survive PowerPoint purgatory. Research shows that fragrances infused with grapefruit, lemon, and orange send more oxygen to your brain, stimulating neuron activity to make you feel more alert.Try: Feerie by Van Cleef and Arpels (shown), $150 for 3.4 oz, bergdorfgoodman.com; Carol's Daughter Pearls, $27 for 2 oz, carolsdaughter.com; Fresh Strawberry Flowers, $38 for 1 oz, sephora.com

If you're scheduled for a bikini waxScent strategy: Spritz on a sweet fragrance to reduce the sting.

Why: A Canadian study showed that women who wore sugary scents before immersing their hands in uncomfortably hot water felt less pain than they did when they dunked au naturel. The theory: Our brain produces opioids (natural pleasure-releasing, pain-dulling chemicals) when sweet odors hit our olfactory centers. Dab a dessert-inspired scent on your wrists and breathe deep before Olga lets 'er rip.